Nickel Rifle Cases?

je2140

Picked up some once silver looking fired Winchester 308 rifle cases at the range last week. They appear to be nickel plated like pistol cases, is that what they are?
I have seen aluminum cases before and these cases don't appear to be aluminum.

JR
The truth is that all good modern rifles are efficient weapons; it is the man behind the gun that makes the difference

Theodore Roosevelt

shooter93

Quite possibly nickel. There are a number of nickel rifle cases available. They will be very shiny...not a dull grey like aluminum.

JustC

They are nickel coated cases. The original reasoning was for humid/damp hunting environments like alaska. They will not tarnish like brass cases. They are harder, and will scratch the die surface easier than brass cases.

why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?

Pinhead

JustC, the nickel cases are hard and could possibly cause scratching on dies as you said. I have tried a few of them in 30/06 dies with a fine coating of Imperial Wax and could not see any visiable damage with a good bore light nor could I detect any damage to the dies from using on brass cases later. Don't know if this would work out long term or not but I plan on giving them a more extensive test to see. I myself prefer brass cases though.

JustC

The thing I have been told to do is to make sure all polishing dust is removed before sizing. Some guys use jewellers rouge with their media, and that is said to be harsh on dies. I have not used any nickel cases so I can't comment on the abrasives and/or removing them prior to sizing.

why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?

dcloco

The "other" benefit of nickel cases...they are HARD to inspect for case head seperations or cracks in the necks. The high polish tends to not show the stressed areas....beware!

Also, to make SURE they are nickel plated brass...do the drop test. Drop a brass case of the same caliber on concrete....LISTEN to the sound. Now drop your nickel case....should be the same dull sound. If higher pitched...you have nickel plated steel cases. They are out there...believe it or not. Saw some 7.62x39 nickel plated steel cases at the range this weekend.

HKman

I would say they are nickel plated and are probably Winchester supreme(Nosler and Winchester combined technologies) those seem to be the most common.

One thing to remember aside from what you have already been told is the hardness of these cases. I would not recommend crimping these, I have found that they already hold quite a grip on the head, and P.O.I.(point of impact)will vary slightly from your brass loads. Hope this is helpful.[:)]


AC-Tactical

"There are those who make things happen, those that watch things happen and those that say, what happend?"

je2140

Thanks for the hints

JR
The truth is that all good modern rifles are efficient weapons; it is the man behind the gun that makes the difference

Theodore Roosevelt